Title
Read On Phoenix Update
Description
This report provides an update on the Read On Phoenix initiative for being recognized as a Bright Spot with the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
Report
Summary
According to the 2021 AzMERIT testing data, there are no school districts in Phoenix that have more than 70 percent of the student population passing the reading portion of the test. Only 35 percent of Arizona’s third graders scored “proficient” or “highly proficient” on the AzMerit 3rd grade English Language Arts assessment, and Phoenix school districts fall under the statewide average at 25 percent. There are approximately 13,000 Phoenix third graders who are not reading at grade level. The Pandemic has caused a “COVID-19 Slide” learning loss in literacy and math.
Read On Phoenix, an initiative to get local students reading at grade level by 3rd grade, was established to target literacy resources to the communities most in need. Based on recent successes, Phoenix was selected as one of six cities in Arizona to launch the Read On Acceleration Zone Project. The Cartwright School District was identified as the “Read On Phoenix Acceleration Zone.” The overall goal of the project is to identify and bring additional resources before, during and after school to support Cartwright’s mission in increasing literacy attainment.
The City of Phoenix and Read On Phoenix was awarded the Campaign for Grade Level Reading (CGLR) Bright Spot Award for the accomplishment achieved in Cartwright and the Phoenix community during the Pandemic. CGLR is highlighted several communities across the Nation that developed exemplary or innovative responses to the COVID-19 crisis, including new or adaptive roles, programs, organizational relationships/collaborations, policies, and/or resources. They recognized communities for crafting solutions that seem especially effective, replication-worthy, and/or deserving of being sustained post-COVID-19.
Read On Phoenix is being recognized for the following areas:
- Provided 10,000 internet-enabled laptops to local Phoenix schools with high Free and Reduce Program rates to close the technology gap and mitigate learning loss in more than 10 school districts. Efforts also included increasing Wi-Fi access to communities most in need.
- Increased educator capacity by training 48 early childhood educators on LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) to deepen their understanding of the science behind teaching literacy. Twenty-one individuals also became subject matter experts to continue building capacity within the community.
- Pivoted the Experience Corps Phoenix tutoring program by expanding virtual access virtually and providing Wi-Fi enable tablets for volunteer tutors/students to continue high-quality 1:1 reading interventions in the community.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Inger Erickson and the Youth and Education Office.